Displays of Affection
by Suffering Angel
Summary: It's Ven's birthday but Terra has nothing to give him. Making up for this might end up costing him more than he thought.


I don't own nothing.

**Displays of Affection**

Birthdays; such an odd, awkward concept, the boy thought as he sat out on the grass and stared up at the night's sky.

Birthdays; everyone had them, or so he was told, for one wasn't in the World without being born. Every star in the sky had one, even if it wasn't celebrated, and everyone on those worlds had birthdays too. Even his friends and his Master had them, and he did too.

_"If you don't remember when, then it's decided!"_ He recalled hearing it said to him in that cheerful voice, with those bright eyes sparkling at him.

_"The day you first appeared here is the day you were born here on!"_ The young man said back then and grinned as he placed his hand on the boy's head.

_"That's your birthday, Ven!"_

That day when he was first ushered into the large castle, lacking anything to call his own, and in return, earned himself a family. How fitting was it, then, to celebrate that day every year since as his birthday.

A tiny smile rose to the blonde teen's lips as he recalled that time and he let himself toy with the edges of the scarf his other friend made for him. She gave it to him, claiming it to be a present just for him, in a party they threw in his honor. There was cake, and lots of decorations, and music and games. All three of them worked so very hard to make that night happen, and Ven couldn't be more grateful for it. He had such a good time, and liked extremely the presents both Master Eraqus and Aqua gave him. It was an all but a perfect evening, one the boy doubted he'd forget any time soon. An all but a perfect night, or was it

Almost.

There was one thing missing, and Ven tried his hardest not to mind it too much. After all, he attended, didn't he? He came to the party and celebrated with him and they talked and laughed and had a good time. So what did it matter that the guy came in empty handed?

What difference did it make he had nothing to give? Why should Ven care so much that Terra didn't give him a present for his birthday?

"Ven!" Terra's voice came then, snapping Ven out of his daze. The boy jumped lightly before turning to look over his shoulder. Speak of the devil, he thought as he watched the older Wielder run towards him. The smile returned to the blonde's face and he half turned towards his friend as he sat down next to him.

"So that's where you were." Terra huffed as he reached to ruffle Ven's hair in mock-anger. "And I've been looking for you all over inside."

Ven snickered in return and let that hand stay on his head for as long as it did. "I'm amazed you can walk after eating so much earlier. I swear, you ate half the cake."

Terra growled and hit his fist against his chest. "Don't underestimate me!"

"Right, right... great Master Terra!" Ven laughed and teased in return, only to make Terra huff as he leaned back on his arms.

"Heh... some special ability that is for a Master..."

"It _is_ amazing. I can barely move and I ate a lot less."

"Are you calling me fat, pipsqueak?" The brunette growled in mock-annoyance.

"Oh, c'mon, Terra, I know you're just _big boned_."

"Pfft!"

Both boys let themselves laugh at that, and then turned to look up at the star-filled sky. It was sparkling as it always had, making Ven wish he knew how to turn off the many lanterns around them.

"It sure was a nice party." Terra commented idly after a while and Ven could only nod his agreement.

"Sure was. I can't thank you guys enough for it."

Terra shook his head. "Pull something like that for us too. That should be enough."

He was rewarded with an amused snort.

"Right, right. I'll do my best." Ven promised and turned to look back at the sky, thus missing the sad look that settled on Terra's face. He looked at Ven for a long moment before finally sighing.

"Sorry." He muttered and turned to look back up, in the process missing the surprised look Ven gave him.

"Wha-" He blinked before pouting. "Why apologize? I don't mind throwing you guys parties. After all you've done-"

He was cut short when Terra raised his hand and shook his head, a fond, apologetic smile playing on his lips.

"...then what?" Ven asked as his frown deepened. Terra lowered his hand and turned to look ahead at the horizon.

"I can't afford any fancy stuff like the Master. I can't really make things, either, since I'm not good with delicate, fragile stuff, like Aqua is. So I didn't get you anything."

Ven's eyes widened, and a small, excited smile rose to his lips as he reached once more to feel over the scarf Aqua made him.

"I guess it's ok then." He whispered.

Terra studied Ven's flattered expression for a long moment before sighing. "You guess... it's ok?" He asked as he reached for his pocket.

"Yeah." Ven replied. "You remembered, right? And tried your hardest. I can't ask for much more." He concluded in a light tone and finally turned to look at Terra, only to find the other tapping an elegantly designed envelope on the blonde's forehead.

"Then I guess... you don't want this?" Terra asked in a somewhat innocent voice and began slowly pulling his hand back. "In that case, I'll-"

"_Give it!_" Ven roared and leaped at Terra, Aqua's scarf discarded for its own safety. The boy grabbed Terra's wrist and pulled himself up to straddle his hips, and with the envelope safe at hand he rolled off of Terra to his other side, leaving Terra to blink, and then laugh himself silly.

"Talk about a disgruntled kitten!" He roared and covered his eyes with his hand, leaving Ven to glare and hiss at him.

"Mrewr!" Ven replied before turning to carefully open the envelope. It resembled the Master's official stationary in design, he pondered idly as he carefully tugged at the paper.

"What happened to it being 'ok'?" Terra finally managed to ask, but despite replying, Ven still stared at the envelope.

"You bothered despite it all. I can't just ignore it."

"...That so." Terra hummed and smiled fondly as Ven undid the envelope and continued to read the letter's content out-loud.

"'I, Terra, Apprentice of Eraqus, hereby bequeath upon Ventus, fellow Apprentice-' Jeez, Terra, think you could've done it any _more_ official-sounding?" Ven asked with a scrunched nose.

"Just read on." Came the huffed reply.

"Right, right." Ven obliged and cleared his throat. "Where was I... 'Hereby bequeath upon Ventus, fellow Apprentice-'" He paused and his eyes slowly widened. "'-And precious friend-'" There went his cheeks, going all red. "'-the right for three requests, in accordance with the supplied rules'."

A long moment of silence passed then in which Ven kept staring at the note in his hands. He held it gently, affectionately even as he tried to come up with the right words. He was spared, however, as Terra broke the silence first.

"I figured, if I can't make anything or get you anything... I can at least _do_ something for you, right?" The older of the two began with his eyes set on the blades of grass underneath them as those swayed in the breeze. "The kind of stuff that for whatever reasons, I'd usually refuse to do; The kind of stuff you usually won't ask for; the kind of stuff that make no sense so you don't ask for, even though you really want them. That sort of thing."

Ven followed the explanation closely before he returned to the note and went over the list of limitations. No killing anyone, huh... now why would Ven ever need Terra to do that, anyway?

"Soooooo, in short..." Ven cooed and waved the letter at Terra, a playful grin on his face. "This is a 'spoil the birthday boy' slip!"

Terra growled back. "See, that's why you're still a kid. You can't appreciate the over-dramatizing of such trivial matters."

He was answered with a burst of laughter as Ven rolled to sit behind Terra and leaned back against him. He let himself appreciate for a moment how the other's massive build blocked the evening's breeze.

"If only Aqua and the Master could hear you now, Terra. Such a fine adult, ha ha!"

The older of the two huffed in amusement before leaning back and easily pushing Ven along with him. "I'll get rid of the witness."

"Aaah! No, I'm being squished!" Ven played along before pulling away. This caused Terra to lightly fall backwards, but he sat up soon enough and seemed just as amused as the blonde.

"Serves you right."

"Hey, you're being mean to the birthday boy here!" Ven laughed back as he wrapped his arms around Terra's shoulders and rested his chin against Tera's neck.

The brunette quirked a brow before poking Ven's forehead. "I'm not sure that's what kittens are supposed to do when wanting attention."

"Imagine I'm wagging my tail and that I'm a puppy then." Ven replied lightly before pouting. "Carry me."

Terra's brows shot upwards. "Excuse me?"

"It's my first request!" Ven huffed in a bratty voice and waved the envelope. "Carry me back!"

Terra's expression softened noticeably at this and he managed a small smile as he pulled himself to a crouching position, Ven still hanging off his shoulders. "Well, in that case, you should've said so from the get-go!"

Ven had to awe at the ease in which Terra stood up even with him hanging off the man's shoulders. He smiled when Terra reached to hold his thighs and pushed him once higher up his back.

"Comfy?" Terra asked as he twitched his head ever so slightly to not bump it against Ven's.

"Very." Ven replied with amusement and settled down when his noble steed turned to head back towards the castle. "Faster!"

"It won't be much of a ride if I run, you know." Terra replied but paced up regardless. The somewhat bumpier ride made Ven snicker on occasion, but he was overall docile and quiet and let his mind wonder.

It was nice, he concluded and hardly minded when Terra took all the possible detours. The man was warm and steady, and his hold on Ven firm and secure. It felt safe there like that, Ven had no other way to put it. Safe, and close, as obvious as it was to think about someone who was holding him on his back. What a wonderful gift it was, Ven pondered and smiled against Terra's shoulder.

"Don't fall asleep on me." Terra said when he felt Ven going limp against him. "You drool, I drop you."

"Promises, promises." The boy mumbled and snickered for no apparent reason. He straightened up a bit when the castle came back into view and let out a long, low hum.

"Say, Terra... I want my second request now too."

"That's what I gave them to you for." Terra snickered fondly. "Shoot. What do you want?"

Ven stalled for a long moment. He felt embarrassed to voice such a request, but didn't Terra say that himself? That this let him ask for everything he wouldn't otherwise? That he was allowed to indulge in such childish urges?

He took a deep breath and was about to declare his wishes, but for all the good it did him, he ended up muttering it against Terra's shoulder.

"Let's sleep together tonight."

He knew it was childish, and most likely clingy, and silly to boot. He half regretted voicing it, fearing how it may affect the older's opinion of him. The dreadful sensation worsened when Terra came to a stop, making Ven's heart skip a beat. He's done it now, didn't he?

"You know what? Forge-"

Of course, that too was silly of him. Terra's never failed him before, now did he?

"A sleep over, huh? Don't suppose you'd also like to _bathe together_?" He asked, mostly teasing; Mostly.

Ven blinked and looked up to find Terra smiling warmly. He wasn't mocked, or teased or babied. Terra accepted his request, saw it – and raised the ante.

The flattered grin managed to stay for several seconds before it morphed into a bratty smirk.

"You offered it, so it doesn't count as a request from me!"

Terra laughed at that. "Fine, fine. I'll play along, you win." He began walking again after shaking his head twice.

"Alright!" The blonde cried triumphantly and held on a bit more tightly.

"For the record, you're abusing your position as the birthday boy." Terra berated without any true annoyance in his voice. "But you know, you better use up that last request. I mean, you have a deadline a year from now."

Ven blinked at the warning before pouting. "I read it in the limitations, but... how come a year?"

Terra snickered. "Because then it'll be your birthday again and I'll have to get you something else, silly."

Ven's eyes sparkled for a moment before he curled up closer against Terra, his eyes close and a content smile on his lips. It didn't matter to him that the breeze picked up yet again and even colder than before. It also didn't matter he was effectively bouncing up and down as Terra began running.

He received a birthday present from his very best friend, and he had a rather enjoyable evening ahead to look forward to.

This truly was a perfect birthday,

Or rather-

Almost.

"...maybe I'll ask you to go back and bring back my scarf."

"I _will_ drop you."

"Empty threats."


End file.
